Oracle names a new CFO during a big AI spending spree

Oracle $ORCL has appointed Hilary Maxson, a former executive vice president at Schneider Electric, as its new chief financial officer, the company said Monday.

Reporting to CEO Clay Magouyrk, Maxson, 48, will oversee Oracle's global finance organization. Her compensation package includes a $950,000 annual base salary and a performance-based bonus targeted at $2.5 million, according to a regulatory filing cited by CNBC.

Before joining Oracle, Maxson spent almost a decade at Schneider Electric — an energy management and automation firm whose annual revenue tops $45 billion — where she rose to the role of executive vice president and group chief financial officer. Earlier in her career, she spent 12 years at the AES Corporation $AES in senior roles spanning finance, strategy, and mergers and acquisitions. She holds a bachelor's degree and MBA from Cornell University and serves as a non-executive director and chair of the audit committee at Anglo American plc.

"Hilary's experience spans industrial, infrastructure, and software businesses — sectors where capital intensity and execution excellence are critical to success," Magouyrk said in a statement.

With Maxson's arrival, go-to-market operations will once again occupy Doug Kehring full-time: He had filled the principal financial officer seat for roughly six months after Safra Catz's departure, according to Bloomberg.

Maxson steps into the role at a moment when Oracle is committing extraordinary capital to expanding its AI data center footprint. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Anurag Rana wrote that "the choice of an industrial company CFO highlights the importance of the buildup of AI infrastructure within Oracle, and signals that growth lies in the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure segment, not databases or applications."

To fund the buildout, Oracle has signaled it intends to tap both debt and equity markets for up to $50 billion this year, according to Bloomberg. Analysts tracking the company expect it to run negative free cash flow into 2030 as construction costs mount.

Oracle's most recent quarter marked its first period in more than 15 years with both revenue and earnings growth above 20%, with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure revenue rising 84% and total cloud revenue up 44%. Oracle has said customer demand for cloud infrastructure continues to exceed supply. Oracle shares are down approximately 25% since the start of the year.